Spring 2012 Programs/Events

The Pocket Opera Workshop presented a program of ten-minute operas by Hunter composers based on librettos written by Hunter students and faculty.

Performances staged June 2 were sung by students from the Department of Music Program in Voice and accompanied by a chamber orchestra conducted by Paul Mueller. A reading of four additional pocket operas and some excerpts from operas by student composers took place June 5.

This interdisciplinary colloquium assembled international artists, scholars, and Hunter students to reflect on the politics of memory, monuments, the Africanist and African American presence that have shaped and continue to shape the landscape of the Black Atlantic.

Students presented creative projects occasioned by the upcoming 150-year anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation (January 1st, 1863) alongside talks by Alan Rice (Professor of American Cultural Studies, University of Lancashire and author of Creating Memorials, Building Identities: The Politics of Memory in the Black Atlantic), and Lisa Merrill (Department of Speech Communication, Rhetoric & Performance Studies, Hofstra University and author of When Romeo was a Woman: Charlotte Cushman and Her Circle of Female Spectators).

Filmmaker Stephen Maing screened and discussed High Tech, Low Life, his documentary about the rise and struggles of two Chinese "citizen journalists. Armed with laptops, cell phones, and digital cameras, they have developed skills as one-man news stations while learning to navigate China's evolving censorship regulations and avoiding the risk of political persecution.

Based in New York, Maing is a Fellow of the Sundance Documentary Institute and Independent Feature Project Labs programs and a grant recipient of the MacArthur Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, and the Independent Television Service.

In a presentation for students in Lang Recital Hall, best-selling author and neuroscientist David Eagleman engaged in a lively, mind-expanding conversation about human memory, time, and other themes from his best-selling book Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives.

Eagleman also met with Hunter faculty at the Roosevelt House on April 30 to discuss "Science as Creative Narrative." Known for his experiments and writings on the subject of human perception and the limitless universe, Eagleman has been featured in The New Yorker, The New York Times and on The Colbert Report and NPR, among other media outlets.

"The vast layout of the universe is truly mind numbing, innately 3-D, and spans time beyond our comprehension," Emmart said. "So how do we get our heads around it? We do it by visualizing three-dimensionally the data scientists gather and by placing it in context to our place within it. Projected into domes, we can literally move through it and experience the universe we map from this one small place within it."

Emmart's visit was arranged by Assistant Professor Kelle Cruz and instructor Daniele Pinna, who run Astronomy 101, an arts-integrated course coordinated at Hunter.

The Arts Across the Curriculum Faculty Committee hosted a Summit to seek perspectives on transforming a pilot arts initiative into a full-fledged, cross-disciplinary program for undergraduates. During a two-day series of presentations and panel discussions, Hunter faculty heard from distinguished guests from Bates College, Vanderbilt University, and Whittier College who work for successful cross-disciplinary arts programs at their schools. Speakers also included representatives from New York cultural institutions that have special partnerships with Hunter as well as faculty and students who are already engaged in integrating the arts in creative ways at Hunter.

Students and faculty took part in the most Cagean of practices - wild mushroom hunting - in Central Park. Wildman Steve Brill lead an expedition of foraging and cooking edible and medicinal plants.

Participants learned a great deal about edible and poisonous plants, including wisteria, violets, sassafras, and poison ivy. Mr. Brill was able to speak scientifically about the plants and their effect on the body, but also touched on culinary subjects, history on the uses of the plants, and Native American folklore.

Some of New York City's best resources are also its most underutilized: museums. Educators from the Rubin and Metropolitan museums discussed creative ways to integrate their collections and resources into college coursework. Hunter professors added to the conversation by sharing how they've used museums to reinforce and broaden classroom lessons.

Speakers included Laura Lombard, the Rubin Museum's Manager of University Programs, and the Met's managing museum educators Marcie Karp (academic programs), Jackie Terrassa (gallery and studio programs), and Jo Loh (public and exhibition programs). Hunter Religion Lecturer Wendy Raver and Dara Meyers-Kingsley, director of Arts Across the Curriculum and Muse Scholars, also spoke. Co-sponsored by the Academic Center for Excellence in Research & Teaching.

James Ilgenfritz presented his 2011 opera, The Ticket that Exploded, based on William Burroughs' 1962 dystopian science-fiction novel. Elliott Sharp opened for the opera with a performance of Quadrature for electroacoustic guitar solo. Both artists participated in a question and answer session after the show.

Chantal Akerman, the Michael & Irene Ross Distinguished Visiting Professor of Film and Video and Jewish Studies at the City College of New York, met with students from various disciplines - film, women's studies, French, art and creative writing - to discuss her creative process and show excerpts of her films. Akerman's work spans scriptwriting, feature films, documentaries, and installations. This event was organized by Prof. Ivone Margulies (Film and Media), an Akerman scholar and author of Nothing Happens: Chantal Akerman's Hyperrealist Everyday, who led the discussion with Prof. Joe McElhaney (Film and Media).